Wired: The research that could, perhaps, lead to nuclear isomer bombs one day remains contentious in America; the weight of the physics establishment says the science is unproven, even unlikely. But what is the rest of the world doing? In particular, what about the Russians, who carried out some of the earliest work in this area?And what about the Chinese?
Chinese physics paper suggests new yield results for isomer bomb
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Assuming the research is correct, isomer bombs would enable military planners and leaders and heads of state a much greater range of options in defensive or offensive combat operations and related situations without the need to bring out the really big guns, such as nuclear fission and/or fusion type nuclear weapons.
As scary as nuclear isomer weapons may sound, they might have a good use in the arsenals of future military powers.
Nuclear isomers of the hafnium variety have an excited state of roughly 2 MeV above the ground state of hafnium nuclei. Going from the second isomeric energy level down to the ground state can occur in a manner that releases energy in the form of gamma rays with the same energy. Since all of the energy is released in the form of gamma rays, so-called gamma ray bombs could be developed with wide spread and lethal effects.
One kilogram of hafnium nuclear isomer at its second excited energy level has a potential yield of about 0.3 Kilotons. One metric ton of hafnium nuclear isomer has a potential yield of 300 kilotons, and obviously, a 33 metric ton nuclear isomer bomb could have a yield of a metropolitan area busting 10 megatons and so nuclear isomer weapons could perhaps be essentially as powerful as modern thermonuclear weapons, a somewhat scary thought.